At some point in time, most of us have been in a situation where we need the address and/or name of someone or someplace, yet all we have is a telephone number. For example, sometimes we have the telephone number of a friend but not their address. If we were to try visiting a friend we might try to call first to get an address. Sometimes, however, friends are difficult to reach, or for various personal reasons, it may be awkward to call a friend just to get their address. Other times, we wish to remain anonymous, yet still desire to obtain or verify the address of another individual by using only the telephone number of the individual. In still other instances, there exists devices which display the telephone number of a caller but not their name or address. Before returning the call, it would be useful to be able to verify the name and address of the caller.
There exists today a few ways to obtain a name and address associated with a telephone number. Each of these ways has their own drawbacks. One way is by using a physical (i.e., paper copy) xe2x80x9creverse-index telephone bookxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9creverse telephone bookxe2x80x9d. These books list telephone numbers in numerical order along with the name and address associated with each number. The major drawbacks to using this method are availability and accuracy. Most people and businesses do not ordinarily have a copy of a reverse telephone book at the ready when it is needed. Instead, they end up going to a reference library or the like to access such a book. Even when they access a reverse telephone book there is no guarantee that the names and addresses in the book will be accurate or up-to-date. Instead, these books may contain out-of-date information due to the time lag between the date the information was obtained and the date that the book was ultimately published or used.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide for methods and devices for forwarding the name, address or other identification data (hereafter collectively xe2x80x9cidentification dataxe2x80x9d) associated with a telephone number without the need to refer to a reverse telephone book.
It is also desirable to devise methods and devices for providing services which forward identification data associated with telephone numbers, which require only a minimal amount of changes to existing telephone company equipment in order to minimize the cost of providing such services.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In accordance with the present invention there are provided methods and devices for forwarding identification data, such as names and addresses. Upon the reception and input of a telephone number associated with a far end device, a novel device compares the number to a list of stored numbers. If a match occurs, the device outputs at least a name or address associated with the far end device, such as a telephone, over an existing type 2, CID data link.
The device may comprise a telephone central office, stored program control system, central office switch or some type of programmed medium.
The device can be adapted to prevent the output of the identification data unless a valid access or password is received from a near end device (e.g., telephone).
The present invention and its advantages can be best understood with reference to the drawings, detailed description of the invention and claims that follow.